Weekly News Bulletin - No. 03, November 2022

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK in the first year (in 2021) of the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has reached 6 6.6 billion USD, up 17.2% compared to 2020.

Of which, Vietnam's exports reached nearly 5.8 billion USD, up 16.4%; British exports reached 849 million USD, up 23.6%. In the first 5 months of 2022 alone, despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions in the global production and supply chains, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK still reached 2 .68 billion USD, equivalent to the turnover in the same period of 2021. However, there are still certain difficulties when exporting to this market. According to Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, the UK has very high standards for imported goods.

The collaboration with technology platforms and tourism business sectors will bolster efforts to quickly adapt and take advantage of digital transformation effectively. Dr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made the statement at a digital transformation roundtable discussion held in Hà Nội on Wednesday. Việt Nam's tourism development strategy to 2030, approved by the Prime Minister on January 22, 2020, set an orientation to accelerate the digital transformation process in the tourism industry, toward the formation and development of a smart tourism ecosystem.

Digital transformation as well as enhancing cooperation in the digital environment is the right choice for organisations, businesses, and digital service providers to strive to maintain operations in order to adapt flexibly and develop sustainably.

Last week highlight

According to the Deputy Director of the Europe-America Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the EU is Vietnam's leading trading partner and the third largest export market, with average export growth reaching 7.5% per year, accounting for 13.6% of the country’s total export revenue each year.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnam - EU trade revenue hit 57.01 billion USD last year, up 14.5% over the same period in 2020. Vietnamese exporters have penetrated deeper into niche markets such as those in northern, eastern and southern Europe. Goods for export have also been diversified, including machineries, equipment, tools, spare parts, footwear, computers, electronic products and textile materials, seafood and coffee.

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Let’s look at some other key financial and business headlines during the past week

  1. NA discusses bidding law, passes law on anti-money laundering
  2. Vietnam more selective about attracting investment, says President Phuc
  3. PM affirms Vietnam’s strong commitment to ASEAN
  4. Vietnam key investment destination: German Chancellor
  5. Trade with UK rising under UKVFTA
  6. Vietnam considers raising cap on credit growth
  7. Tourism sector required to adapt to digital transformation
  8. Retail borrowers find bank interest rate hikes too steep
  9. Hung Yen striving to become bright spot in Red River Delta
  10. Thanh Hoa lures 54 investment projects in 10 months

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Key words: Vietnam, business, finance, economy